Music in Common programs bring together diverse communities in or at risk of conflict. We curate experiences of facilitated conversation and music that make it possible for common ground to be discovered. MIC programs are produced in partnership with schools, corporations, community organizations, arts & culture centers, religious institutions, municipalities, government agencies, and other nonprofits.
JAMMS
Our flagship JAMMS program (Journalism As Music, Multimedia, and Songwriting) is a culturally immersive, experiential intensive for youth and adults. Rich and meaningful conversations open the door for participants to learn about each other's backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences. From these conversations, participants choose a theme to collectively write a song and create a multimedia production. Since the program's launch in 2010, more than 60 JAMMS songs have been written, recorded, and performed by hundreds of participants around the world. and is open to musicians and non-musicians alike. JAMMS sessions are led by professional musicians, multimedia creators, and educators trained in MIC's unique facilitation methodology.
AMPLIFY
JAMMS songs are written by musicians and non-musicians alike from diverse and varied backgrounds worldwide. Amplify harnesses the talents of skilled musicians to propel the powerful messages of these songs to a wider audience through recordings and live performance. Our three-week Amplify summer residency has brought together youth musicians from throughout the U.S. and Middle East to learn, record, and perform a full set of JAMMS songs. Amplify '19, featuring seven of the songs from that summer's residency, was released in 2020 and is the first in a series of scheduled Amplify releases.
AROUND THE MIC
Around the MIC is a fresh twist on the traditional songwriters in the round format that features artists of diverse backgrounds and musical genres swapping songs round robin style with a bit of cypher-like fun thrown into the mix from time to time. In addition to the featured artists showcasing their own material, each learns and performs one song from the Music in Common songbook, comprised of dozens of songs written or performed in MIC programs including JAMMS, Black Legacy Project, and FODfest.
FODfest
FODfest (Friends of Danny festival) is our flagship concert and the event from which Music in Common was born. FODfest honors the life of slain Wall St. Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl, and features local, regional, and national musicians in a unique format that is part concert, part song swap, and part jam session. FODfest is a living demonstration of the power of music to connect people, generating a sense of community, hope, and healing. FODfest concerts are free & open to the public and take place each October in honor of Danny's birthday.
